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Dutchess County school districts work out re-opening plans



New York State sets safety requirements for in-person learning

Dutchess County, schools, re-opening, students, teachers, parents

New York State has allowed each school district to devise its own plan for reopening, as long as they meet stringent safety measures for preventing transmission of COVID-19. 

Complying with state requirements, explained the PoughkeeepsieJournal, schools will conduct a daily health screening for students before they leave home each day, most likely in the form of an email to parents with a form to fill out. Students exhibiting any COVID-19-related symptoms will not be allowed to attend school. Each school building must have an isolation room to accommodate any student or staff member who develops symptoms during the school day.

Students riding buses will wear masks and maintain social distancing. A 68-passenger bus will carry only about 22 passengers, although students from the same household can sit together. Bus schedules will have to be staggered, and times for arrival and dismissal will be adjusted to maintain social distancing. 

If a school has an outbreak of COVID-19, school districts will coordinate with the county health department to discuss closing the schools, which would return students to remote learning.

The Hyde Park Central School Districts version of the hybrid model will split students into two groups, each group in school two days per week and at home participating in remote learning the other three days.

Parents may opt for exclusively remote learning if they dont want their children in physical classrooms due to the risk of COVID-19. At a school board meeting, Superintendent of Schools Aviva Kafka reported that 75.7% of parents who participated in a survey said they will send their children back to school, while 24.3% said they will not.

Unfortunately our teachers cant be in two places at once, Kafka said. "When they are at school they are not available full-time to the students that are remote full-time. So [parents] should look carefully when making the decisions to forgo hybrid learning," except for children whose health puts them at high risk regarding COVID-19.

Remote learning will include live teaching once a day, and teachers will maintain a daily office hour for questions and support. Secondary students will meet twice a week for live learning in core subjects, whether online or in person.

According to a posting on the Wappingers Central School District, they plan to reopen school remotely/virtually for the month of September and begin with a phase-in model of allowing students to enter school on a hybrid schedule during the month of October.  During the transition from fully remote learning to hybrid instruction our parents will have a choice to continue remotely or with the hybrid model.  

Check your individual school districts website for details on returning to school.



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